Karva Chauth 2017: Vrat Katha or story to recite before moonrise

Karva Chauth or Karwa Chauth is being celebrated on 8th October 2017. On this day, married women of the Northern states of India observe fast from sunrise to moonrise to pray for the good health and longevity of their husband. Women wake up early in the morning and have their first meal which is known as ‘Sargi’. Sargi is usually offered by women’s mother-in-law. In the evening, women gather under one roof, dressed in red sari and celebrate the day by singing and dancing. Especially on this day, women get henna tattoos on their hand. Before breaking their fast, they recite the Karva Chauth story to each other.

Karva Chauth 2017 Story

There was a princess named Veeravati. She was married to a kid. On her first Karva Chauth, she went to her parents’ house. After sunrise, she observed the fast. But as she was too young and fragile, she couldn’t hold the fast for long. By evening, she fainted due to dehydration. The queen had seven brothers who loved her dearly. They couldn’t see their sister famished and parched. They decided to break her fast by trick. They made fire at a nearby hill and asked their sister to see the glow. They made her believe that it was the moonlight and the moon has risen. As soon as the queen had her first morsel, she got the news that her husband was dead.

She was heartbroken and rushed to the palace to see him. On the way, she met Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. They informed her that her husband has died because the queen has broken her fast before the moonrise. Queen sought their forgiveness. Seeing this, Goddess granted her a boon that her husband will be alive but would be ill.

When the queen reached her palace she found her husband lying unconscious with several needles piercing his body. Each day, the queen removed one needle from King’s body. Next year, on the day of Karva Chauth, only one needle was left in husband’s body.

The queen observed a strict fast. She bought a Karva from the market. The maid removed the needle from the king’s body. The king came back to consciousness and mistook the maid for the queen. When queen returned to the palace, her husband treated her like a maid. But due to her dedication and love, she observed the fast. While going to some other kingdom, the king asked the queen, whom he mistook as a maid, if she wanted anything. Queen demanded two identical dolls. The king obliged and queen started singing a song ‘Roli ki goli ho gayi... goli ki roli ho gayi’.

King asked why she kept on singing the same song, then Veeravati narrated the entire story. The king immediately restored her back to the royal status. It was queen Veeravati’s dedication that won the faith of her husband again and the blessings of Goddess Parvati.